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Life is good. Life is great. In fact, it has never been better for Terry Bollea, known to fans everywhere as wrestler Hulk Hogan. Terry says that he can fully appreciate the blessings of his life now in a way he never could during the zenith of his highly successful career in the public eye. That’s because four years ago Terry hit bottom—emotionally, physically and financially. “Rock bottom for me was walking into my house with no clothes, no kids, no dogs, no wife and three days later sitting in the shower, drinking a bottle of whiskey with a gun to my head,” he says. “And then a friend called.” That friend, Laila Ali, was his co-star on American Gladiators. She had heard about the pending divorce because Terry had been served his papers while on the set. “She called and told me how much everybody cared,” he says. “As soon as I realized that somebody was reaching out to tell me that they loved me and cared about me, I started smiling from ear to ear. It led me into making the right choices.”

Hulkamania at its Peak

Being Hulk Hogan had consumed almost all of Terry’s waking hours and brought in billions of dollars, reaching a peak in popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For years, he worked every day and saw his family only when he could manage to fly home for a few hours.“Every single live event that I went to was sold out. There were no empty seats anywhere for a 10 to 15-year period,” he says. “The Hulkamania thing was like the Beatles for me. It felt like you got on this wave and you had to ride it.”Hulk Hogan—with his bulging muscles and deep gravelly voice—became a role model for countless children and Terry still hears from adults who say they never would have made it through their childhood without him. His mantra of training, eating your vitamins and saying your prayers became a household slogan. “The Hulk Hogan character helped a lot of people,” Terry says. And success would have felt phenomenal… if he could have slowed down enough to enjoy it. “There was a sense of accomplishment,” he says, particularly about having a positive impact on so many lives. But there was a downside, as well. “The treadmill never stopped.”

Body by Vi, Hulk Hogan and his Fit Kit

These days, though he is still in the Hulk Hogan business, Terry has found a new way to help others. In spring 2011 Terry joined ViSalus™ and began promoting their Body by Vi™ 90 Day Challenge. He had been looking for the right entrepreneurial vehicle on and off for years, so when his niece told him about ViSalus™, Terry was intrigued. Learning that one of the company founders, Ryan Blair, was involved in the same church as Terry gave him even more confidence that ViSalus™ might be the right opportunity. He likes the emphasis on nutrition and its sound business model. Before Terry joined the company, he did his homework and was impressed with the strong growth ViSalus™ continues to experience on a monthly basis, despite the troubled economy. “Now, I’m focusing on what’s real, on having a hands-on effect on everything I touch,” he says. “Times are hard for a lot of people. I’m trying to correct them, one person at a time, to show them that life is good. It’s worth fighting for.” These days Terry is using the new, cutting-edge Body by Vi Challenge FIT KITto get into peak form. It’s the ultimate Kit for athletes who are looking to increase their endurance, maximize their workouts, and take their performance to an entirely new level. “My Body by Vi FIT KIT is waiting for me every morning in the kitchen just like a training partner. It’s kinda cool…no it’s really cool!”

Life Outside of the Ring

After hitting bottom, changing his attitude and changing his life, Terry wrote a book that hit the stores last year. My Life Outside the Ring details his struggles and his successes. In addition to his failed marriage and subsequent financial woes, Terry has had multiple knee replacements and hip replacements, as well as eight back surgeries. Nothing has stopped him. “You either run from the obstacle or you go around it or you go over it or through it,” Terry says. “Everything starts with one step at a time. Just lean into the wind. No matter how rough it gets, you too can pull yourself out of the hole and get back on your feet.”

About ViSalus ViSalus, headquartered in Troy, MI and Los Angeles, CA, is a leading Health Transformation Company utilizing the direct selling channel to distribute its meal replacement and nutritional supplement products. ViSalus is built around the wildly successfulBody by Vi™ 90-Day Challenge, a health challenge that helps people achieve their weight loss and fitness goals. ViSalus is majority-owned by Blyth, Inc.